- - 'Family love radiated' from 'magical' Michele Reiner, her friend says – Exclusive

Josh Peter, USA TODAYDecember 20, 2025 at 7:31 PM

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From left, Michele Reiner, her husband Rob and daughter Romy attend the 30th anniversary screening of "When Harry Met Sally" at the 10th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, California, in 2019.

In 2013, Rob and Michele Reiner created "Save Malibu," a non-profit to preserve "the unique character of Malibu by preventing overdevelopment," according to state records.

The idea for them to get involved largely started with Jae Flora-Katz, a resident of Malibu, and the protections for local businesses still on the books today are a result of their efforts. Another result of their work? A lasting friendship between Flora-Katz and the Reiners, especially Michele. "I wasn't the A-list celebrity who just dined with her or showed up at movie screenings. I'm a person that she wrapped her arms around. There was no glam, no need to try to impress her. We both just wanted to help our neighbors. That was it. I met the real Michele and will love her forever."

Here, she remembers her dear friend.

As part of their "Save Malibu" efforts, (from left) Carla McCloskey, Michele Reiner, Jae Flora-Katz, Jefferson Wagner, Lynn Norton, and Rob Reiner gathered at Pavilions grocery store to meet with area residents in 2014.

Reeling from the devastating news of global violence following the shootings at Brown University and Bondi Beach, I texted my dear friend Michele on the day that she died, "What world are we living in?" Her world, fueled by her life, was the shining and irrefutable definition of integrity. With compassion, she embraced some of the most challenging social equity fights in this country. With her soul intertwined with Rob's, Michele Reiner helped her fellow humans win justice. I craved her wisdom.

It never came.

In the summer of 2013, I was sinking in the quicksand of a desperate community effort to save neighbor's endangered livelihoods. Commercial landlords were bulldozing through evictions of small businesses to enforce their lavish version of our town that didn't include middle income Americans. Our collective efforts were failing as residents battled billionaires and the politicians gorging on them.

Goliath owned this victory, David was on the mat.

Director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner at the Human Rights Campaign 2019 Los Angeles dinner on March 30, 2019.

I knew that the Reiners lived near a dear friend. In a final Hail Mary toss, I asked her to inquire if they’d meet with me. In a town swarming in celebrities, none had ever offered to help. As I answered her call, preparing for the obvious "no," I heard, "Come to Rob and Michele’s home tomorrow."

I knocked on their front door a stranger, it opened with their hearts welcoming a new friend. This was the world of Rob and Michele Reiner.

Michele was the fuel of this endeavor. Not to protect the Hollywood "elite" and their insatiable appetite for luxury. It was, in fact, the opposite. For "mom and pop" store and restaurant owners being ground down by a ravenous Godzilla devouring this town. Until Michele Reiner opened her front door.

Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner attend the premiere of "Shock and Awe" at The London West Hollywood on July 9, 2018, in West Hollywood, California.

She inspired her enthused Rob to dive in. If you were lucky enough to get one, you got two. And if you got two = you won. After a brutal battle, the section of the Reiners' ordinance protecting Malibu’s small business owners remains on the books as their lasting gift to the city that they loved.

Michele was on a life mission to tilt our world towards justice and compassion. Underdogs fueled her. She didn’t avoid that fight, she shook hands with it. Half of one of the most powerful marriages in Hollywood, the Michele that I cherish was simply incapable of game playing or ego tripping. She didn’t need to, her core essence was pure power. She didn’t care what your film credits were – she cared what your life credits were. What you were doing to help.

Family love radiated from Michele's cells. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to help them shine. When Rob was busy on films, she was their powerful conscience directing focus. Bringing health care to young children, education to parents, marriage to gay couples, safety to small businesses, equity to the disadvantaged – the list of their accomplishments is endless.

From left: Jake Reiner, Romy Reiner, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner attend the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on Jan. 15, 2024, in Los Angeles.

When she joined Rob to produce movies, her creativity bloomed. Already a gifted photographer, now they’d create film that spoke to their social passions and truth telling. Rob and Michele were the two pieces of a life puzzle that when joined together became a creative inferno. We may never know the extent of all of the good that this couple accomplished across our globe simply because they had no compulsion to brag about it.

Our knitted humanity asks "What world are we living in?" We can now only wish we were still living in the magical and compassionate world of Rob and Michele Reiner.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michele Reiner: 'Family love' defined Rob Reiner's wife, friend says – Exclusive

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